Each year our Expo Floor gets bigger and better. This year we were proud to have so many fantastic and innovative exhibitors with us in Las Vegas. Here are 5 of our favorite technology-based companies and products. Enjoy!
Those of you who attended the 2016 Nightclub & Bar Show and walked the Expo Floor must remember seeing the Jevo in action. It was hard to miss – there were crowds around “the Keurig of Jello Shots” (a nickname given to Jevo by First We Feast) the entire time. This innovative machine is fully automated to make more gelatin shots more quickly, which means more profits for operators. Jevo produces 20 ready-to-eat gelatin shots in minutes using the company’s proprietary Quick Chill and Precise Pour technology, ensuring each Jevo shot is made perfectly delicious every time. Not only is Jevo simple to use (select the spirit of your choice, insert a Jevo flavor pod and press “Go”), it tracks usage, flavors and spirits used against sales from your POS to determine which combinations are selling the best.
Jon Taffer knows a lot, and not just about the hospitality industry. He knows that pretty much everyone, regardless of their chosen industry, dislikes being told what to do. Some people shut down if you’re tell them they’re going to be trained to do something. But most people, if they’re looking to pick up and hone new skills, are open to the idea of being taught. This is where Taffer Virtual Teaching (TVT) comes into play. Yes, told what to do versus trained versus taught are semantic issues, but they’re still very real. TVT is an interactive learning tool that consolidates Jon’s decades of business consulting experience into easy-to-understand and easy-to-apply lessons that increase profits through marketing, operations, and service actions. Users learn valuable industry skills and techniques from Jon and other leading experts, they can join private livestreams with Jon to discuss proven methods, tools, and strategies, a community forum is available for questions and discussions, and users can benefit from TVT certifications. Head to the website, pick your package, and enroll today!
There are a lot of spirits-, beer- and cocktail-focused on the market. Many are essentially databases of cocktail recipes. Several are community-based, allowing users to connect with one another while they rate various beers, wines and spirits. A few of them are actually delivery services, bringing the bar to users’ homes, which keeps them away from your bar, at least for an hour or two (or perhaps an entire evening). HOOCH, however, is an app that draws them to your bar. Members sign up for $9.99 per month and receive 1 free drink each day at a partner venue. To spell it out plainly, a bar partners with HOOCH, a user goes to that bar, and their first drink is on HOOCH. The app is available in NY and LA, with Miami, San Francisco, Hong Kong and a few more cities coming soon.
It’s high time being rewarded for your service in the hospitality industry was as easy as calling for an Uber. With IndiCard, not only are you a member of the club that is service workers, you’re truly part of a tribe. This app isn’t just something anyone can download and use, hopeful users are vetted to ensure they’re actually part of the industry. Bartenders, bar managers, owners, operators, wait staff, limo drivers, beauticians… If you’re in the hospitality business, you’re in with IndiCard. The best part is that the app isn’t just about scoring a discount on drinks at a bar, there’s a slew of industry hookups. While drink and food discounts are certainly a large part of IndiCard, there are also hookups for various spa treatments (tanning, facials, etc.), discounts on haircuts, deals on move-ins for new residents at hip apartment complexes, even special promotions on gun ranges. There’s a ton to take advantage of, and you’ve earned it. Check it out!
Founded in 2014 and backed by leading venture capital investors, BevSpot gives you the ability to streamline your entire bar management process. All of your processes can be conducted on any mobile device through this web-based software platform. Access real-time information on your item-level profitability and variance, optimize your drink pricing, and access analytics for your best and worst performing products. In short, BevSpot is an app that makes it much easier for you to make critical business decisions using real-time data, helping you to grow your business quickly...from anywhere. Cruise on over to their website to find out why in just a couple of short years the company has grown to 65 employees and over 300 clients throughout the US and select international markets.
Oh, you’re not used to seeing mechanical bulls in tech roundups? What have you been reading? Mechanical Bulls Sales may seem like a simple company on the surface – they make only one thing, mechanical bulls – but there’s noteworthy design and technology that goes into their product. First, MBS bulls are the only patented bulls on the market. Second, while other bulls only rock back and forth and spin, MBS bulls also buck, raise and lower. One of their presets (there are 35 preset motions) even allows these bulls to shimmy. And that brings us to point number 3: these are the most technologically advanced bulls on the market. They’re also incredibly safe: the bulls’ heads are made from high-density foam, the horns are silicone, the bodies are well padded, and the patented design that controls the movement ensures that riders fall off to the sides and not over the head. If you’re in the market for a bull for your bar or nightclub, look no further.